Generalissimo

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For other uses, see Generalissimo (disambiguation).
Common anglophone military ranks
Navies Armies Air forces
Officers
Admiral of the fleet Marshal /
field marshal		 Marshal of
the Air Force
Admiral General Air marshal
Commodore Brigadier Air commodore
Captain Colonel Group captain
Commander Lieutenant colonel Wing commander
Lieutenant
commander		 Major /
commandant		 Squadron
leader
Lieutenant Captain Flight lieutenant
Sub-lieutenant Lieutenant Flying officer
Ensign 2nd lieutenant Pilot officer
Midshipman Officer cadet Officer cadet
Seamen, soldiers and airmen
Warrant officer Sergeant major /
Warrant officer		 Warrant officer
Petty officer Sergeant Sergeant
Leading seaman Corporal Corporal
Seaman Private Aircraftman
Seaman recruit Army recruit

Generalissimo and Generalissimus are military ranks of the highest degree, superior to Field Marshal and other five-star ranks.[dubious – discuss]

Contents

Usage[edit]

The word "generalissimo" is an Italian term, from generale, plus the superlative suffix -issimo, itself from Latin -issimus,[1][2][3][4][5] meaning "utmost, to the highest grade".

Historically this rank was given to a military officer leading an entire army or the entire armed forces of a nation, usually only subordinate to the sovereign. Other usage of the rank has been for the commander of the united armies of several allied powers.

List of Generalissimos[edit]

Main category: Generalissimos
Chiang Kai-shek
Alexander Suvorov
Francisco Franco
Person Service Country Era Notes
Chiang Kai-shek National Revolutionary Army Republic of China 1928 [6]

[Note 1]
Foch, FerdinandFerdinand Foch French Army France 1918 [7]

[Note 2]
Wallenstein, Albrecht vonAlbrecht von Wallenstein Army of the Habsburg Monarchy Hapsburg 1625-1630, 1632-1634 [citation needed]
Suvorov, AlexanderAlexander Suvorov Imperial Russian Army Russian Empire 1799 [citation needed]
Miranda, Francisco deFrancisco de Miranda Venezuelan Army Venezuela 1812 [citation needed]
Hidalgo y Costilla, MiguelMiguel Hidalgo y Costilla Revolutionary Army of Mexico Mexico 1810 September - 1811 February [citation needed]
Franco, FranciscoFrancisco Franco Spanish Armed Forces Spain 1936 [8]
Gómez, MáximoMáximo Gómez Republic of Cuba Army Cuba 1895 [citation needed]
Ihsan Nuri Kurdish National Forces Turkey 1930 c. [9]
Crown Prince Charles John Royal Swedish Army Sweden 1810-1818 [10]
Stalin, JosephJoseph Stalin Soviet Armed Forces Soviet Union 1945 [11]
Kim Il-sung Korean People's Army North Korea 1992 [12]
Kim Jong-Il Korean People's Army North Korea 2012 [13]
Trujillo, RafaelRafael Trujillo Dominican Army Dominican Republic 1930 [14]
Sun Yat-sen Republic of China 1917-1918, 1922 Technically as Grand Marshal[15] (source does not support this)
López de Santa Anna, AntonioAntonio López de Santa Anna Mexican Army Mexico 1846-1855 [16]
Muhammad Iqbal Shedai Battaglione Azad Hindoustan Italy 1942 [17]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Chiang Kai-shek was General Special Class of the Republic of China, cf. 特級上將授任條例
  2. ^ Généralissime was the title used to describe Ferdinand Foch's Allied Command, starting 26 March 1918. He actually held the rank of général de division, and later the dignity of Marshal of France.

References[edit]

 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)
  1. ^ Webster's Third New International Dictionary. , French Larousse Étymologique.
  2. ^ "Online Etymology Dictionary". Online Etymology Dictionary. 
  3. ^ "Define Generalissimo at Dictionary.com". Reference.com. 
  4. ^ "Generalissimo - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-Webster. 
  5. ^ "Definition of generalissimo - Oxford Dictionaries (British & World English)". Oxford Dictionary of English. 
  6. ^ Jay Taylor:The Generalisimo:Chiang Kai-shek and the struggle for modern China (2009) Harvard Press
  7. ^ John McGroarty :The Gray Man of Christ: Generalissimo Foch (1919) Los Angeles, Walter A Abbott
  8. ^ Cover, TIME magazine, 18 Oct 1943
  9. ^ Bletch Chirguh, La Question Kurde: ses origines et ses causes, Le Caire, Impimerie Paul Barbey, 1930, front cover, IHSAN NOURI PACHA Généralissime des forces nationales Kurdes (French)
  10. ^ (Swedish) Ancienneté och Rang-Rulla öfver Krigsmagten år 1813
  11. ^ Joseph Stalin was appointed Generalissimus of the Soviet Union. See: Ivan Aleksandrovich Venediktov, Selskokhozyaystvennaya yentsiklopediya, Vol. 4, Gos. izd-vo selkhoz, 1956, p. 584. (Russian)
  12. ^ The Daily Yomuiri, 29 September 2010, Kim Jong Un spotlighted / 'Heir apparent' promoted to general, makes DPRK media debut
  13. ^ The Australian, 15 February 2012, Late Kim Jong-il awarded highest honour by North
  14. ^ Stanley Walker : Generalissimo Rafael L. Trujillo (1955) Caribbean Library
  15. ^ Linda Pomerantz-Zhang (1992). Wu Tingfang (1842-1922): reform and modernization in modern Chinese history. Hong Kong University Press. p. 255. ISBN 962209287X. Retrieved 2010-10-31. 
  16. ^ Stephen L Hardin, Angus McBride : The Alamo 1836 (2001) Osprey . pp24, 100
  17. ^ [1] Subhas Chandra Bose: A Biography; By Marshall J. Getz, page 69 ;McFarland, 2002
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